


The Long Road

by captainjaybird



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26453116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainjaybird/pseuds/captainjaybird
Summary: In the Shrieking Shack, Snape is awake when Scabbers is revealed to be Peter Pettigrew. This one revelation has the power to change everything...With proof of Sirius's innocence in Snape's grudging testimony finally providing Sirius with a trial, the path is open for Remus and Sirius to pursue the escaped Pettigrew, with intermittent help from Snape himself, who is as desperate to avenge Lily's murder as Remus and Sirius are to avenge James's. Together, Remus and Sirius set out on a journey to capture Pettigrew and save the Wizarding World, and along the way, salvage their relationship, broken at the end of the war.Can Remus and Sirius capture Pettigrew, and save Harry? Can they come together again, and learn to be happy? The answers can only be found on the long road ahead...
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	The Long Road

In his office, Remus Lupin pours over the Marauder's Map, not quite able to believe he’s really looking at this, that he’s really able to hold in his hands something that he and his friends had created. James, Peter... _Sirius._ Remus swallows the disgust that rises in his throat at the thought of that traitor, that murderer, that man Remus once foolishly loved. All those whispered promises, all those loving words...a lie. 

_Don’t think about that,_ Remus tells himself. _Just look at the map._

And so he does, watching Minerva pace in her office, Filch prowl around the castle, looking for troublemakers. Remembering the horrible event that’s taking place this evening, the execution of Hagrid’s hippogriff, Remus turns his attention to the grounds. He fears Harry, Ron, and Hermione might try to do something foolish. Brave, true Gryffindors all, but foolish.

Sure enough, they are. He watches them walk towards Hagrid’s hut. He doesn’t go after them—if it’s just a visit, it does no harm, and Hagrid could use the comfort. Still, now he needs to keep a careful eye on them to make sure a visit is all this turns into. Hagrid’s hut isn’t on the map, and Remus sighs, realizing he’ll need to stare at the map in the vicinity of where they just walked off it. It could be minutes, it could be hours. Remus wishes he had a cup of tea.

It’s about twenty minutes, Remus fighting boredom the entire time, but then they leave. What Remus sees shocks him to his core.

 _Peter Pettigrew._ Remus freezes, stomach bottoming out, breath stuttering to a stop. Peter! How could this be, how on _earth_ could Peter be on the map, he’s dead, he’s dead, murdered by Sirius twelve years ago. But the map never lies…

Remus doesn’t have time to think as he sees another dot barrelling towards them at breakneck speed. _Sirius Black._ Remus’s heart is in his throat, he’s already standing up to run, but he’ll never get there in time, Harry is there, Sirius is headed toward him, and he will die and Remus will have failed Lily and James utterly, letting their son be murdered by their once-best friend.

Sirius collides with the group, but to Remus’s shock does nothing with Harry. He’s dragging _Ron,_ and with him, the dot labeled Peter Pettigrew. That impossible dot, unless...with a start, Remus remembers Ron has a pet rat. A _rat._

“No…” he whispers. Sirius pulls Ron and Peter into the tunnel under the Whomping Willow while Harry and Hermione chase them. Remus takes off at a run.

He sprints through the castle and across the grounds, grateful for once for his werewolf-enhanced stamina. Without thinking, he enchants a rock to hit the knot on the Whomping Willow, never even pausing as he dives into the tunnel. The tunnel slows him down, regrettably, as cramped and claustrophobic as he remembers. Finally, he reaches the Shack, pulling out his wand and blasting open the door.

The sight that greets him is disturbing to the extreme. Ron is crumpled on the floor, face white with pain, Hermione not too far from him, looking petrified, and Harry is standing over Sirius, face dark with anger, wand out. And Sirius...he’s bleeding, and he looks like a living corpse. If Peter is really alive, if Sirius is innocent...how could Remus ever have let this happen, how could he have abandoned the only man he’s ever loved? 

Remus pushes it away. What matters now is getting the truth, once and for all. Quickly, he disarms the children, and their looks of abject betrayal pierce his heart. 

“Where is he, Sirius?” Remus asks, feeling like he’s in a dream. The way Sirius looks at him, completely blank, almost vacant, makes him feel like he can’t breathe, but slowly, Sirius raises his hand and points, directly at Ron.

Lupin reasons it out to himself out loud, half his thoughts verbalized, wondering why Peter had hidden so long...and when it hits him that it was _Peter_ who was the Secret Keeper, that it was _Peter_ who betrayed James and Lily, he feels a weight leave his shoulders while guilt slams his chest. Sirius, innocent Sirius who never betrayed them, who _Remus himself_ betrayed, nods.

It’s all the confirmation Remus needs. He crosses the room, pulls Sirius up and into an embrace. He holds him, and Sirius is stiff in a way he never was before, but Remus cannot believe this, cannot believe Sirius is in his arms, is innocent, is here. Slowly, Sirius holds him back, and for a brief, shining moment all is right in the world.

“I DON’T BELIEVE IT!” Hermione screams, and Remus pulls back, suddenly conscious of the others in the room.

Hermione is off on a tear, Remus can’t get a word in, and Harry is so angry, accusing him of being Sirius’s friend. If only Remus had been...before he can explain, Hermione has spilled his secret to the entire room. 

_“He’s a werewolf.”_

The look of disgust on Ron’s face pierces him, although Harry doesn’t seem to have absorbed all of the wizarding world’s prejudices about werewolves yet. That doesn’t matter—the betrayal still on his face is enough.

They lose time then, valuable time, time in which Peter could wiggle his way out and escape, as Remus tries to calm the children down, is finally able to start explaining. He explains about the Marauders, about their secret animagus transformations, how he became a werewolf and how his friends at school helped with that. Somewhere in that time, the door creaks and opens, but no one is there, so Remus dismisses it. He’s just explaining about Snape to Harry and his friends, when suddenly, the man himself appears.

 _Severus!_ Remus thinks wildly, _how_ —but the how doesn’t matter, because Snape’s wand is pointed directly towards him. 

Snape is full of anger and vindication, and as much as Remus tries to explain he can’t get a word in, and suddenly he is bound and tied with cords. Helpless, Remus watches Sirius and Snape face off, terrified one of both of them will end up dead. To his shock, Hermione suggests Snape listen to Remus’s explanation. He’s gotten through to her, at least.

It doesn’t matter, Snape is raving, and he’s going to get Sirius kissed, and Remus struggles against the ropes, trying to yell through the gag in his mouth, no, _no,_ not Kissed, not Sirius, not when they’re finally back together and he’s _innocent._ It’s the worst fate Remus can imagine, worse than if Sirius died, and panic rises in his throat when— _Harry._

Harry is standing in front of the door, blocking Snape, and Remus can’t believe it, can’t believe he’s gotten through to him. He doesn’t have a chance against a fully-grown wizard, but that almost doesn’t matter in that moment, because he believes Remus.

It escalates quickly, Harry and Snape both yelling. And then Harry raises his wand—

“ _Expelliarmus!”_

Snape goes flying off his feet and into the wall, slumping down, unconscious. It wasn’t just Harry. Ron and Hermione had cast the spell too. For teenagers, they’re powerful, and Remus feels faintly sick. Children shouldn’t be knocking adults out, children shouldn’t be faced with these things. Isn’t this what Remus fought a war to prevent?

Sirius unties him. Remus looks at Snape. They really shouldn’t leave him like that, without medical attention.

“I’m going to wake him up,” Remus announces to the room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione look shocked, Sirius looks appalled. “I’ll make sure he can’t interfere, but we can’t just leave him like this.”

“Why not?” Sirius spits out. “He would do the same for us. He was going to give me to the Dementors.”

“Then we have to be better than him,” Remus says. Sirius falls silent. Harry, Ron, and Hermione watch with wide eyes and Remus crosses the room to where Snape is lying.

Remus sits Snape up against the wall, facing them. He might as well see what’s going on. There’s a faint chance it could convince him, and they need all the witnesses they can get.

“ _Petrificus totalus. Rennervate.”_

Snape’s eyes snap open, but his body doesn’t move. His dark eyes flash with fury.

“I’m sorry, Severus,” Remus says. “But I can’t let you stop this. Please, while you’re here, listen, watch. You’ll see the truth, I swear it to you.”

If anything, the fury in Snape’s eyes grows, and Remus walks back to Sirius, faintly uneasy about turning his back on Snape, even with the man fully paralyzed.

Sirius explains Ron’s rat is Scabbers. He’s missing a toe. Remus never noticed..but Sirius had seen. Sirius explains how Hermione’s cat, which surely must be part-Kneazle, helped him try to get Peter, how that coward faked his death _again._ And then, the moment of truth.

Sirius confesses that he was never the Secret Keeper, that it was Peter. That he convinced James to switch, as a decoy. He still blames himself, that’s clear to see. Against the wall, Snape has narrowed his eyes, clearly disbelieving. Remus’s heart sinks. He hates to admit it, but they need him, their only credible witness. 

“Ron, _give me that rat,”_ Remus commands, and with resistance, Ron does. Remus and Sirius agree to do it together, count to three, and then—

A flash of blue-white light erupts, and suddenly Peter is there. What happens next is so astonishingly fast Remus never has time to react.

There’s another flash of light, and then suddenly Snape is across the room, hauling Peter up against the wall.

“YOU!” he screams. “ _YOU_ BETRAYED LILY, YOU KILLED HER, I’LL KILL YOU—”

“Severus!” Lupin exclaims, pulling him off Peter. “You can’t, we need him alive—”

“Get away from me, wolf!” Severus yells, shoving him away. “How dare you, he betrayed Lily, he _deserves_ to die.”

“We agree on that,” Sirius says, voice hoarse. “But I should be the one to kill him. Let me commit the murder I was imprisoned for twelve years ago.”

“We’ll all do it,” Remus says. “Together. He took the people we loved from all of us. We’ll kill him together.”

Snape’s eyes glimmer, Sirius’s jaw clenches. 

“As long as my curse hits first,” Snape says, smooth but boiling with anger underneath.

“No, as long as _mine_ does,” Sirius replies.

“Together,” Remus reiterates.

“P-please,” Peter pleads. “R-Remus, Sirius, we were f-friends. You wouldn’t kill an old friend, would you?”

Sirius’s gaze hardens. “An old friend? No. A traitor? Absolutely.”

“We were never friends,” Snape hisses. “I’ll kill you with pleasure.”

“No, nooooo,” Peter moans, turning to Ron. “Ron, sweet boy, I was your pet for years, I never harmed you, I was a good companion. Please, don’t let them do this.”

Of the people in the room, Ron looks most horrified. “I let you sleep in my _bed!”_ he yells. “All this time, you were this creepy grown man, you killed Harry’s parents, and you pretended to be my _pet!”_

“Harry,” Peter whimpers, turning to the boy. “Please, your father wouldn’t have wanted this, James wouldn’t have wanted this, he would have mercy. Please, have mercy, have _mercy…”_

“How dare you!” Sirius growls. “You sold his parents to Voldemort! You have no right to even _speak_ James’ name, how dare you!”

“I didn’t do it, please,” Peter cries. “Sirius is lying, he’s a murderer.”

“You did it,” Snape says coldly. “All these years my hatred for Black blinded me, but you were always a sniveling little coward. You killed Lily, and _I will kill you.”_

“You don’t understand!” Peter exclaims. “He was so powerful, he was winning, he would have killed me—”

“THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!” Sirius shouts. “DIED, AS ANY ONE OF US WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!”

It’s time to end this. “On three,” Remus says softly. “One, two—”

“Wait!” Harry yells. “Wait! You...you can’t kill him.”

“Harry, thank you, you good kind boy,” Peter whimpers, crawling up to him and pawing at his robes. 

“ _Get off me,”_ Harry hisses in disgust, shoving Peter away. “I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this because I don’t think my parents would have wanted their best friends to become murderers.”

Snape wheels and faces Harry. “You cannot stop me, Potter,” he spits out. “That appeal might work on your dear father’s old friends, but it won’t work on _me._ This piece of filth killed Lily. He’s dead.”

“What is my mother to you?” Harry asks, bewildered. “Why do you keep talking about her like you knew her?”

Snape stills. “That is none of your business.”

“It’s my mother, and you’re about to try to murder someone for her! I think it’s my business!”

“They were friends at school,” Remus explains quickly, before Snape can say something regrettable. “Best friends, until fifth year. They...drifted apart.”

“You mean Potter _stole_ her from me,” Snape spits.

“You drove her away yourself,” Sirius says angrily. “You dark magic-loving git.”

Snape’s face goes red. “How _dare_ you—”

“You were friends with my mum?” Harry interjects. “And you’ve treated me like _this_ all these years?”

Snape turns to him, taking a breath. “You are James Potter’s son. Just because you have her eyes does not mean anything else of Lily lingers in you.”

“You’re wrong,” Remus says. “I’ve spent the year watching him. He’s much more like Lily than like James.” Snape opens his mouth. “But that’s not what’s important right now. Peter.”

“We should kill him,” Sirius says.

“We can’t,” Remus replies. “Harry is the only one with the right to make that decision.” He turns to Snape. “And Harry is right. Lily wouldn’t want you to become a murderer.”

“It’s too late for that,” Snape says with self-loathing. Harry, Ron, and Hermione gasp in shock, although Snape appears not to notice. “But just this once...for Lily’s sake.” He sneers at Peter. “Getting Kissed is the worse fate anyway. I can live with that.”

Peter blanches. “No, please…”

“That’s enough,” Remus decides, shooting ropes out of his wand to tie and gag him, not too differently from what Snape did to him a while ago. “It’s time to go.”

Sirius nods, glaring at Snape. “If he can listen to Harry...so can I.”

Remus goes and checks Ron’s leg. “This break is too severe for me to try to fix. We’ll splint it up and let Madam Pomfrey take care of it.”

Ron nods. “It’s not too bad,” he says, face green, voice full of bravado. “I can make it.”

Sirius looks a little guilty. “I’m sorry,” he says gruffly. “I didn’t mean to break your leg. I was just trying to get that rat.”

Ron looks uneasy, but nods. Slowly, they make their way back through the tunnel. Sirius and Harry are talking, Sirius asking Harry if he wants to come live with him. Harry, having barely known of Sirius’s innocence for a half hour, is eager, and not for the first time Remus wonders what his life at the Dursleys’ is like. He doesn’t think Sirius is ready, but that’s a conversation for another time.

The grounds are dark now, and as they leave the tunnel they slowly start making their way towards the castle. There’s a faint breeze in the air, and a cloud shifts...and suddenly a beam of moonlight hits Remus. _No,_ is all he has time to think, _the Wolfsbane!_

His body is twisting and tearing, muscle and bone rearranging, until conscious thought leaves.

The wolf howls at the moon.

* * *

Remus wakes up the next day in the forest, naked, scratched, and sore. _What…_ he thinks blearily, _what happened?_ Then, in a rush, it all comes screeching back. Sirius, Peter, Snape, Harry. Harry! He had transformed, right among them all, what if he bit Harry or one of his friends, what if he mauled or killed them? What has he done?

Remus feels weak and shaky, and not just from the transformation. He looks around him. He looks to be on the outskirts of the forest, within walking distance of the castle. But how will he even get there? He’s naked, with no wand, no clothes, no way to make any appear out of thin air. He can’t just go walking up to the castle starkers, what if a student should see? The mortification might actually be enough to kill him.

In the end, it’s Dumbledore who finds him, and only ten minutes or so after he’d woken up. He had spent those ten minutes lying there trying desperately to think of a way out of this situation, and not succeeding. 

“My dear boy,” Dumbledore says, averting his gaze. “You’ve had quite a night.” He swiftly conjures a set of robes, and Remus gratefully puts them on, standing up slowly and carefully.

“Harry?” he asks Dumbledore urgently. “Ron and Hermione, are they alright? Did I—I didn’t bite them, did I? Please tell me I didn’t—”

“It’s quite alright,” Dumbledore cuts in. “They are safe and sound, back in the castle. Mr. Weasley’s leg has been healed, and they have all been released from the hospital wing.”

Remus nearly crumples in relief, hands coming up to his face. They’re alright…

He looks at Dumbledore cautiously. “Sirius Black,” he says. “He…”

“I have heard the tale from Harry,” Dumbledore says gravely, “and had it corroborated by Severus.” Remus starts in surprise. “Yes, Severus hates Sirius,” Dumbledore continues. “But he cannot allow the person he blames for Lily’s murder to walk free. If that exonerates Sirius, so be it.”

“I…” Remus says. “I admit I had hoped for that when I woke Severus up after he was knocked out, but I did not expect it.”

Dumbledore hums. “Some secrets are not mine to tell, my boy, but Severus would never willingly do anything to betray Lily.”

“Does that mean Sirius is free?” Remus asks, trying to squash down the hope in his chest.

Dumbledore clasps his hands. “Not quite. But Severus was considered a more credible witness than three thirteen year olds or a werewolf. His testimony to Cornelius was enough to get Sirius a trial.”

Guilt rises within Remus. A trial...something Sirius had never gotten all those years ago. Something Remus had never fought for. Just another way in which he’d failed the man he loved so desperately. As much as their relationship had fallen apart during the war, shouldn’t he have least owed him that?

“I’ll testify,” Remus says. “I’ll go right to the Wizengamot.”

“I do not think your testimony would help,” Dumbledore says gently. “The word of a werewolf is not something most people would find a point in Sirius’s favor. But Sirius has volunteered himself for Veritaserum already, and Amelia Bones has accepted. That alone should be enough for his innocence to be made legal.”

Remus sighs in relief. “Can I at least come to the trial? If...if Sirius wants me there.” The fact that he might not is a pit in Remus’s stomach. That he might rightfully blame Remus for turning his back on him years ago. That their relationship might never be repaired as friends, let alone more.

Another thought strikes him. “If Harry and Severus told you about last night...you must know our secret, about being Animagi, and what we did while we were in school.”

Dumbledore gives him a heavy look. “You were always among the most gifted students at the school. Such an achievement, at such a young age...but I am gravely disappointed in you. After all the effort we went to to make you safe so that you could receive your education, that you would throw that all away to run around in the woods with your friends…”

Shame burns in Remus’s throat. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m so sorry to have betrayed your trust like that, and to have been so reckless. I’m even sorrier I didn’t tell you about Sirius being an animagus this year, which would have helped immensely with security. Just because he was not the danger in the end does not mean that was not a deeply foolish, selfish thing for me to do. I couldn’t face your disappointment, but I deserve it.”

Dumbledore sighs. “It is in the past. I hope you learn from it. Despite this, and the immense danger of you forgetting your Wolfsbane last night, I am willing to let you continue to teach at this school. You have been one of the finest Defense teachers we have ever had.”

Remus’s heart leaps in his chest, but then…

“Peter,” he says. “He escaped last night. Was he ever caught?”

“No,” Dumbledore says, voice heavy. “He was not.”

“Then I have to leave,” Remus says, weight settling in his stomach. “I have to look for him. I’m one of the people best-equipped to find him. I’m sorry, but I can’t continue teaching. Not while he’s still out there.”

“I feared you’d say that,” Dumbledore sighs. “But I respect your decision, and see the sense in it. I had truly hoped you’d be the Defense teacher we would be able to hold on to longer than a year…”

“I wish I could have been. But this is more important.”

Dumbledore nods, and then they walk back to the castle in silence.

* * *

Harry comes and finds him, and the conversation he has with the boy where Remus tells him he will not be returning as his teacher is hard. It aches, how much Harry clearly wants him to stay. Remus suspects he has been failed by many of the adults in his life, and hates to be another. But it is the only way to keep him safe. Peter will not stop until he finds Voldemort, not now that he has no other options. The best Remus can do is to promise Harry he will keep in touch.

It is not long after his conversation with Harry that someone else comes to find Remus, someone altogether more unexpected.

“Lupin,” Snape says, walking through the door. “A word?”

As surprised as he is, Remus doesn’t forget his manners. “Please, come in,” he says, pulling out the chair in front of his desk.

Snape walks in, looking disdainful the whole time. He pointedly ignores the chair.

“Dumbledore has told me that you will not be returning to the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor,” he drawls. “My condolences.”

Remus knows that’s sarcastic, but decides to treat it as if it were sincere. “Thank you. Unfortunately, something more important came up.”

“I know,” Snape replies, eyes sharpening. “That is what I came to talk to you about.”

“It is?”

“You’re going to try to find Pettigrew. I want to find that little bastard too.”

“You want to help me?” Remus asks, shocked.

“I don’t want to help _you,_ wolf,” Snape snarls. “I want to make sure the person responsible for Lily’s death gets what he deserves. Unfortunately, that means working with you.”

“Are you quitting too, then?”

“I cannot leave my post as Potions Master, as much as I might wish to rid myself of these idiot students,” Snape growls. “I won’t explain myself to you, but I must stay here. But that does not mean I cannot help, on occasion.” He pauses. “You may find my knowledge of the Dark Arts useful. And you may find yourself needing some potions on your way.” He grimaces. “Most notably, Wolfsbane.”

“You’re going to continue making that for me?” Remus asks, jaw dropping. 

“I can’t have you incapacitated on your search for Pettigrew. The transformation takes less out of you when you take that potion. That is reason enough.”

“Thank you,” Remus says, genuinely grateful. “I accept your help, of course. But I must warn you...I am going to work with Sirius, as soon as he’s freed.”

 _“Black…”_ Snape hisses through his teeth. “Fine. I suppose I should have expected that. I will not work with him. I won’t deign to be in the same room as him. As long as you remain my point of contact, I suppose I can make this work.” He sets his jaw. “No matter how distasteful it is.”

Remus nods. “It’s agreed then. Can I help you with anything else?”

Snape gives him a condescending look and turns on his heel. “No,” he says on his way out the door, “I daresay you can’t.”

Remus relaxes when he leaves the room. He cannot honestly say Snape is his favorite person. But his help _will_ be invaluable, and Remus is not foolish enough to throw away an ally for petty reasons. 

The real difficulty will be convincing Sirius to accept his help. _If_ Sirius will work with Remus. Remus looks out the window of his office towards the grounds. Please, please let him have this second chance. Even if he and Sirius never return to how they were, just to be around him again...that would be enough. Remus sighs to himself. It will have to be enough.

He finishes packing his bags and heads to the carriage Dumbledore has arranged for him. He could stay through the end of the term, of course, but the longer he stays the harder it will be for him to leave. He was truly happy here. 

Remus does not often get to be happy. He supposes he should be grateful it lasted as long as it did. As he leaves the grounds, his mind turns towards the future.

 _The first step,_ he thinks, _is saving Sirius…_

**Author's Note:**

> For this first chapter, there's some necessary retreading of POA, but everything here on out will be an original story about Remus and Sirius, sometimes featuring Snape. Events in subsequent books will be referenced, but this is an AU, and you can never forget about the Butterfly Effect...
> 
> Incidentally, the prologue of this fic came to me in a dream. You never know where inspiration will strike!


End file.
